Between Friends
by W.H. Woolhat
Summary: Milo's stupid plan to attract Gwen Mezzrow's attention makes things awkward between Pepper Ann and Craig.


**Between Friends**

**Author's Note:** Short PA/Craig fic idea I had. One-shot in the sense that I didn't edit it much.

* * *

Pepper Ann closed her locker and sighed. It had been a very strange day. In science, Mr. Carter had openly mocked Alice Kane's essay on particle physics, then tried to blame the outburst on bad coffee. In social studies, Shelf McLain had declared that his favorite band was KLF, and stood on a desk for six minutes singing a song about being bound for MuMu Land before Mr. Finky made him stop. In gym, Coach Doogan had flipped out over everyone cheating at dodgeball, and ended up dismissing the class and muttering about going to join the convent again. Pepper Ann couldn't recall a time she'd been so happy to see the end of a school day. 

Just as she was turning to leave, Milo came rushing around the corner and slid to a stop in front of her, his hat askew and his blue hair plastered in strands across his forehead.

"Sorry, PA, no time to explain!" he exclaimed breathlessly before grabbing her face and kissing her on the mouth. Pepper Ann was so shocked that it was several moments before she was able to regain her composure and push him away.

"Thanks for ruining my first kiss experience," she said sarcastically. "Honestly, Milo, what is wrong with you?"

Milo pointed over his shoulder as he tried to get his breath back. Down the hall, Gwen Mezzrow was just disappearing out the front door.

"Gwen Mezzrow and Dieter are thinking of getting back together," he explained finally. "I had to get her attention, and you know she finds guys with girlfriends a challenge!"

"That's because she's psychotic!" Pepper Ann exclaimed. "Any normal girl would be happy with _one _guy."

Milo raised an eyebrow. "This coming from the girl who was dating Joaquim, Bud, and Craig not long ago."

"That's not the point," Pepper Ann shook her head. "You shouldn't be trying to attract some girl who can't stick with the guy she calls her 'real true love' for two seconds."

They continued to argue as Nicky approached. She took one look at them and shook her head in exasperation.

"You two can't stand still without having some kind of drama, can you?" she asked with a sigh.

"Aw, Nicky, you don't even know what we're talking about," Pepper Ann protested.

"I don't have to," Nicky replied. "I can tell when you're being ridiculous. Now are we going to the Novel Nook or not?"

"Only if we stop at Greezy 'N' Cheesy for pineapple upside-down pizza after," Pepper Ann said emphatically, following her friends out the door.

* * *

Craig wandered down the hall, his guitar slung on his back. He'd just spent the last half and hour in the music room, practicing for the next night's gig at the JavaNutt. Next was practice in his garage with the rest of the band, but first…

He slowed down as the thought came. It was embarrassing that he still found it so difficult. After all, he was Craig Bean, right? The coolest kid in the eighth grade, right? So why did he start shaking in his shoes every time he thought about asking Pepper Ann Pearson to come to one of the band's performances?

He took a deep breath to steady himself. He was approaching Pepper Ann's locker, and he was determined to be as calm and collected as possible when he asked her to come.

Only…he had to wonder about her and Milo Kamalani. Sure, they were best friends, but sometimes it seemed like they were too close for it to be just that. After all, there had been times in the past when the entire school was convinced the two of them were a couple, and even though the rumors turned out to be false, it wasn't a comforting thing to look back on.

"Come on, Craig, you're being stupid," Craig said to himself, shaking his head. "You and PA are cool; she would have told you if she and Milo had a thing going."

With this in mind, he rounded the corner of the hallway where Pepper Ann's locker was – and stopped dead, horrified by what he saw.

Pepper Ann and Milo were kissing, right out in the middle of the hall, in plain view of anyone who happened to walk by. The sight was such a contradiction to what Craig had just been thinking that he nearly didn't believe it. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but there was no mistaking it. Hurt and bewildered, he turned around and headed for the back exit of the school.

How could he have been so stupid? Of course, it had been bound to happen; Milo and Pepper Ann spent too much time together for it not to. Sighing, Craig headed home for what was probably going to be the worst band practice of his life.

* * *

"Hold it!" the drummer cried, stopping the song yet again. "Craig, that's the third time you've gone into lala land with that riff; what is _up _with you today, man?"

Craig shook his head. "Sorry. I'm just…distracted."

"More like hung up," the drummer said, giving Craig a critical look. "You're thinking about that girl again, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Craig replied. There was no point in denying it.

"You only get weird about her when something's going on," the drummer pointed out, "So what's up?"

Craig sighed and explained what he'd seen at school earlier. The drummer shook his head.

"Listen, she and that Kamalani kid have been on again-off again for months," he said. "If they're finally a hot item, what can you do about it?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out!" Craig exclaimed. "I mean, what does it take to get her attention? I've taken her out to JavaNutt, I've invited her to our performances, I've even written _songs _for her, but she always goes back to Milo!"

"I thought she was dating that kid from Our Lady of Walnut," the keyboarder interjected, sounding confused.

"That's not the point," the drummer said sharply, glaring at the keyboarder. He turned back to Craig, suddenly bright. "Hey, man, I think I've got an idea."

"What?" Craig asked. At this point, he'd take any help he could get.

"If she never pays attention to you, you have to do something _really _good to get her attention," the drummer replied, apparently very proud of the idea.

"Obviously," Craig said sourly. "Like what?"

The drummer shrugged. "I don't know, man; if nothing normal has worked to get her interested in you, then it's got to be something big."

Craig rolled his eyes and began to tune his guitar.

"You're a big help," he said. "Now can we get back to the song?"

* * *

The next morning at school, Pepper Ann approached Nicky at her locker, holding a flyer and looking confused.

"Did you know Craig's band is playing at the JavaNutt tonight?" she asked, showing the flyer to Nicky.

Nicky nodded. "There have been flyers up for a couple of days."

"That's weird," Pepper Ann said, scratching her head. "Craig usually asks me to come."

"Maybe he's just been busy," Nicky suggested. "I saw him practicing in the music room yesterday; he could just be preoccupied."

The two of them started walking towards their next class. Soon, Milo joined them, looking distressed.

"Alas, Gwen Mezzrow has scorned me again!" he exclaimed dramatically. "She hasn't said a word to me all day!"

"See, I told you kissing me wouldn't help," Pepper Ann said, shooting him a dirty look.

"Not at all," Nicky agreed. "That was a very foolish idea, Milo; anybody could have seen you. Other kids, a teacher, the principal…"

"Craig," Pepper Ann said suddenly. Milo looked at her in surprise.

"What?"

"Craig could have seen it!" Pepper Ann exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and turning angrily to Milo. "Did you even _think _of that while you were wrapped up in your little Gwen Mezzrow-centered universe? We've been mistaken for a couple enough this year, and I have a hard enough time talking to Craig as it is. If he saw you slobbering all over me, who knows what he thinks?"

"Whoa, mellow out a bit, PA," Milo said, holding up his hands. "You don't know for sure if Craig _did_ see it, and even if he did, you guys are cool. He'd ask you about it instead of jumping to conclusions."

"Thank you, Milo, but I don't think your relationship advice counts for much," Pepper Ann said shortly before turning and walking away in a huff.

* * *

"Mom, can I have a ride to JavaNutt after dinner?" Pepper Ann asked when she got home.

"Sure Peppie," Lydia replied. "Did that young man ask you to go see his band playing again?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah he did," Pepper Ann nodded and headed up to her room. As soon as she'd closed the door, her reflection leaned out of the mirror and raised an eyebrow at her.

"So you really think Craig saw Milo kiss you?" it asked.

"What other explanation is there?" Pepper Ann exclaimed. "I thought things were fine between us, and now this."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" her reflection wanted to know.

"Go watch his band," Pepper Ann replied, "And then…oh, I don't know!"

"If you ask me, you have to get his attention," her reflection said, leaning against the frame of the mirror. "You know, convince him once and for all that you and Milo have nothing going on."

"The last time I tried that, it was a disaster," Pepper Ann pointed out.

"I'm not talking anything drastic," her reflection replied. "Just let him know that you like _him_, not Milo."

"That has _never _worked in the past," Pepper Ann said with a sigh. "Face it, when it comes to Craig, I'm still a nervous wreck."

"Why should you be? He's taken you out to JavaNutt, he invites you to the band's performances – well, usually…he's even written songs for you! Come on, girl, you need to get some courage!"

Pepper Ann laughed shortly. "Right, courage."

"Right, courage!" her reflection echoed, only much more enthusiastically.

"Whatever," Pepper Ann sighed and proceeded to ignore her reflection as she got started on her homework.

* * *

The scene at the JavaNutt was crowded and upbeat as Craig and the band set up on stage. Craig hadn't been expecting so many people; usually the crowd consisted of friends of the band, and maybe a few people who had tagged along for coffee. That night, it seemed as if half the town had come.

Craig set his guitar down and scanned the crowd. He saw Sketch and Hush sitting at a table in the back, and Poison and Tank were ordering coffee or something over by the counter. But Pepper Ann was nowhere in sight.

"Well, what do you expect when you don't invite her?" he said to himself, shaking his head. He was about to turn away and test the amplifier when a flash of red caught his eye. Sure enough, Pepper Ann was coming in the door…

With Milo. Nicky was there, too, but Pepper Ann definitely had her head bent in Milo's direction and was saying something that was, by the look of it, pretty serious. Milo was nodding, and soon the three of them were in line at the counter. Craig sighed and went to check the amps.

"You sure you don't want a ride home, PA?" Milo asked as he, Pepper Ann, and Nicky waited for their hot chocolate.

"No thanks, Milo," Pepper Ann shook her head. "I want to stay for a while, and I told my mom to pick me up later, anyway."

Milo shrugged. "Whatever you say, PA."

The three managed to find themselves a table in the midst of the crowd and sat down, waiting for the show to start. Pepper Ann fidgeted nervously with the whipped cream on her hot chocolate while Milo made paper cranes out of napkins.

On stage, Craig leaned over to the drummer before starting the first song.

"Change of plans," he said. "We're not playing 'Devil in a Blue Scrunchie.'"

The drummer raised an eyebrow. "But I thought –"

Craig shook his head. "Just…do something else. 'Hey' or something."

"Whatever, man," the drummer shrugged and broke into the opening riff of "Hey."

* * *

The show went well, although Craig very carefully avoided playing songs that had anything to do with Pepper Ann. Instead, the band stuck to upbeat numbers, and the crowd in JavaNutt loved every minute of it. By the end of the night, most people had abandoned their tables and started dancing. The band ended up doing a couple of encores and, by the time they were packing up, Craig figured that Pepper Ann and Milo would be gone.

As he scanned the room, he found that he was only half right. Milo was indeed gone, but Pepper Ann was still sitting at a table with Nicky. Craig hesitated, wondering if he should go over and talk to her.

"Still being scared, man?" asked the drummer as he went by, carrying a snare.

Craig snapped out of his thoughts. "Scared? No way, I'm not scared."

"Then why are you still standing here?" the drummer said, raising his eyebrows. Craig opened his mouth to answer, then realized the question was rhetorical and sighed. The drummer was right; he couldn't keep avoiding Pepper Ann just because he'd seen her and Milo kissing. There was a chance that he'd misinterpreted what he'd seen, although it wasn't likely. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Craig went over to Pepper Ann's table.

"And so, I was disappointed by the book, but still found the style very interesting," Nicky was saying. Pepper Ann nodded absently and glanced towards the stage. When she realized that Craig was coming towards the table, she cut Nicky off and gestured discreetly with her spoon.

"Oh. Oh, yes," Nicky nodded and got up, headed for the door.

"Hey Pearson," Craig said casually, leaning on the table.

"Hey Craig," Pepper Ann replied, trying to ignore the fact that her mouth had gone dry. "Great show."

"Thanks," Craig replied. Then, "Can I sit down?"

"Sure," Pepper Ann nodded. Craig hung his guitar case over the back of the chair and sat down, leaning forward and seeming almost nervous. There was a moment of silence as they both tried to think of what to say. Finally, Craig said,

"Pepper Ann, I –" at the same time Pepper Ann said,

"Craig, I –"

They both stopped and looked at each other awkwardly. Not wanting to chicken out, Craig took a deep breath and plunged on.

"Pepper Ann, I really want to keep hanging out with you, but it seems like every time I go to talk to you, Milo's there, and I don't know what to do about it any more. I know you're good friends, but what am I supposed to think, especially after all the rumors there have been?"

"Craig, none of those rumors are true!" Pepper Ann exclaimed, suddenly upset by Craig's words. "It's just people being stupid; sometimes it's _Milo_being stupid!"

"Yeah? Was it just Milo being stupid when he –" Craig broke off, unable to say what he'd seen the day before. He knew Pepper Ann didn't know he'd seen it, and dumping that on her in anger probably wasn't the best idea.

"When he what?" Pepper Ann asked cautiously, although she was pretty sure what Craig had been about to say. She made a mental note to clobber Milo the next day at school.

Craig said nothing. There didn't seem to be anything he _could _say that would convey what he was thinking and feeling. On some level, he felt almost silly for being so upset about a thing like this, but the fact was, he really liked Pepper Ann, and the thought of her with Milo didn't sit well with him. In fact, there was only one thing he could think of that might get his feelings across.

Pepper Ann was afraid that Craig's silence meant he was angry. She was just contemplating leaving him alone when, suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. She was as shocked as she'd been when Milo had kissed her, but this time, the shock wasn't so unpleasant.

"What was that for?" she asked quietly when Craig had pulled away.

"I just wanted to know if it meant the same coming from me," Craig replied, looking away.

"Meant the…you mean you think I wanted Milo to kiss me?" Pepper Ann nearly laughed. "Craig, that's what I wanted to tell you; Milo was trying to make Gwen Mezzrow jealous. The whole thing happened without warning. He was just being an idiot."

"Oh," Craig felt color creeping into his cheeks. How could he have been so stupid?

"But Craig…"

"What?"

"It didn't mean anything when Milo kissed me, but coming from you," Pepper Ann said slowly, "It meant something."

Craig looked up. "It did?"

"Yeah," Pepper Ann nodded, knowing she was blushing at least as much as Craig was. Slowly, Craig reached over and took her hand.

"Pepper Ann?" he said.

"What?"

"I'm glad."

Pepper Ann smiled.

"Me too," she said.

THE END


End file.
